


A Fabricated Fashion Show

by zysygy



Category: Ib (Video Game)
Genre: Don’t copy to another site, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:05:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22183438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zysygy/pseuds/zysygy
Summary: Ib and Mary are playing dress-up. They decide to invite Garry, who, as it turns out, is quite the fashionista.
Relationships: Garry & Ib, Garry & Mary, Mary & Ib
Comments: 8
Kudos: 27





	A Fabricated Fashion Show

**Author's Note:**

> I saw some people saying that Garry is a fashion designer. I don’t remember that from the game, but hey, I think it could work.

“Can you pass the scarf?”

“The fluffy one or the one that’s striped?”

“Fluffy, please.”

“Ooh, what about sunglasses? I think that would look good on you!”

Ib pushed a pair of star-shaped sunglasses up the bridge of her nose. “Okay. What about you, Mary? What do you want to wear now?”

“I wanna be a princess! Are there any princess dresses in there?”

Leaning over the box, Ib carefully lifted some clothes from inside and started looking through them.

“Me too, I’ll help.”

Ib looked up to see Mary grabbing handfuls of clothes. “I think Garry might want to keep them organized,” she pointed out.

The other girl frowned. “But then it’s too hard to look.”

“No, see? I already found some dresses.” She set a few to the side.

“Oh! Pretty!” She tossed the shirts she was holding back into the box and came closer to take a look. “I want the purple one! No, no, wait—I mean blue! Or pink! I don’t know, actually. What do you think, Ib?”

Ib thought there was a problem. Like all the other clothes Garry brought, the dresses were kind of big. “It’s going to drag on the floor,” she said.

“But can’t I wear it anyway? All I have is this green one. I want to try other colors too.”

“It could get dirty.” Mother and father had always taught her to have care with her clothes. These weren’t hers, though. They were Garry’s, which meant she had to be extra careful with them.

“My room is really clean. I promise. Sis just helped me clean up.”

The room didn’t exactly look unclean, but it was kind of messy. There were pads of paper here and there on the floor, along with lots of crayons and books in random places.

“Garry won’t mind,” Mary insisted. “That’s why he brought them here.”

“Yeah, but...” It was true he said they could play dress-up, but she still didn’t want to ruin anything.

“Oh, look!” Mary skipped past her to the entrance. “Hi! Hello! Did you find anything good?”

Garry walked in, followed by a lady mannequin. Both of them were holding cardboard boxes.

“Put it right here, please,” Marie told the mannequin, who followed her wishes and put the box in front of her.

Garry looked like he was struggling a little with his box, so Ib put her hands under it to carry some of the weight.

“Ah, thanks Ib,” he said. They slowly set it down. “My arms were getting a bit tired since we were walking for a while.”

“Garryyyy,” Mary sang, skipping over to them. “Can I wear one of your dresses? Ib thinks it’s going to drag on the floor.”

“Oh, were there some in there?” he asked. “Well, yeah, I don’t think it’d work out, since you’d be practically swimming in it.”

“Aw,” she said with a frown.

“But aren’t you guys having fun? Look here,” he said in Ib’s direction. “We have a movie star in our midst.”

Ib smiled as she adjusted her sunglasses.

Mary pouted. “I can’t be a princess without a fancy dress.”

From one of the boxes, he took out a notebook and a pencil. “Well, maybe I can figure something out.”

“Where‘d you get all these clothes?” Ib asked as he flipped through the pages.

“From work. They’re outfits that didn’t make the cut and were going to be thrown away. Pretty wasteful, if you ask me.”

She pulled the sunglasses off and slipped them onto her shirt, then craned her neck to see his notebook. “What’s that?”

He brought it down to her eye level. “Just a place for me to keep ideas.”

“A diary?” Mary asked from across the room. She was now wearing a sunhat and a beaded necklace.

“Not really. There’s more pictures than words.”

“Oh, can I see?”

There were drawings of people wearing different outfits on the pages. Some were just in pencil, while others looked like they were colored in with marker.

Mary leaned past Ib. “You get to draw all day for your job, right? Cool!”

“Well, there’s a lot more to it than that.”

She pointed to his book. “Do you have any princess dresses in there?”

“No, sorry. It’s mostly everyday wear.”

She seemed to lose interest at that and went to go look in the boxes again.

“Hm,” he said. “Maybe I could alter one of the dresses we already have here to make something for Mary.”

“Would that be a lot of work?” Ib asked, folding her hands in front of her. “What if she wants to play something else soon?”

He flipped to a blank page in the book and started making quick sketches. “I was thinking that she might like having a new dress to wear too, not just for play.”

She hadn’t really thought of that. She would have to check her closet for shoes and dresses to give to Mary when she got home.

“Anyway, let’s just see what we have here,” he said, walking over to the boxes.

She followed him, and they spent some time looking through different clothes and accessories. They managed to find a pink dress that was on the smaller side so it could fit Mary, with some ‘alterations,’ as Garry put it, but the skirt was a bit long, and not ‘voluminous’ enough.

“I think I can use the bodice,” he said. “But I’ll have to sew a skirt.”

She didn’t know some of the words he was saying, and she was curious what they might mean, but he seemed so focused that she didn’t want to interrupt. He took out a small case from the box and opened it. Inside were lots of pins, needles, some thread, a measuring tape, and scissors. He measured some parts of the dress, then went over to Mary with the tape to get some more measurements.

She was busy draping a scarf around the lady mannequin’s shoulders. “You guys want to measure me? But I already know I’m not tall like Garry.”

“It’s for the dress,” he said. “So not just height, but also a waist measurement.”

Her eyes lit up. “Dress? Okay. What do I do?”

He told her how to stand as he took the measurements.

Once he got the numbers, he unrolled a large sheet of paper on the floor. Ib sat next to him as he took a ruler and started making marks on the sheet. Next, he cut shapes from the paper, and after that brought out a roll of pink cloth and one of a thinner fabric, which he cut once he’d laid the paper on top. After all the cutting, he took some pins, along with a needle and thread and started sewing the pieces of cloth together.

All of it seemed complicated but also interesting. She found herself getting lost in the movements.

Eventually, he stopped to look at her. “I admire your patience, Ib, but this must be very dull for you to watch. You know you can play with Mary if you’re bored.”

“I’m okay. I never got to see you work before.”

“Well, it’s a little different than how I normally do things. For one, I don’t have a sewing machine, which doesn’t make things easy.” He sighed. “If only there were outlets in this weird gallery place. Oh well. I’ll make do.”

“Do you like making clothes?”

He nodded. “Yes, very much. It’s fun, but it also has its challenges.”

“Is that why you like to visit galleries? Because you’re an artist too?”

He had been pulling a needle through the cloth but paused a second before continuing. “An artist? I don’t know. There’s creativity in design, and I have to draw out my ideas, but I don’t know if most people would agree. I did like to go to galleries for inspiration sometimes and for enjoyment. Not so much any more, since our little adventure.”

“You _are_ an artist!”

They both looked over to see Mary standing over their shoulders.

“You make stuff, so you are,” she declared.

“Is it that simple?”

“Uh huh.”

Ib nodded in agreement. 

“So I don’t have a say in the matter? Well, I know there are different types of artists.” He stood. “Anyway, I’m about done here. There are layers to the skirt, and I’ve attached it to the top piece. All that’s left is for you to try it on.”

Mary clapped her hands and smiled gleefully. “Yay!”

“Hold on while I set something up.” He took a large cloth and hung it from one wall across to the other near the back of the room where Mary’s picture and frame was. “There. It’s like a little dressing area. Go on and try it out.” He turned to Ib. “Would you help her if she needs it?”

Ib agreed as Mary took the dress and went to change.

However, it wasn’t long before she was back and wearing it. She span around, and the skirt swirled with her. “Wow!” she said. “Like a real princess!” Ib had to agree. Mary did look like a princess in the fancy dress, with its shiny fabric and puffy skirt. “It’s amazing! Garry is amazing!”

Garry laughed. “I’m glad you like it. Does it fit all right?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure? Let’s see. Why don’t you move your arms and—“ 

But Mary had already wandered over to the boxes again and was putting on the beaded necklace. She turned to Garry when she was done. “Now it’s your turn!” she said. 

“Huh?”

“You made me into a princess. Now we have to make you into something.” 

“Ah, well...”

“Right, Ib?” 

“Right.”

“Well,” he said. “Okay. I guess I already expected as much. I’m not often able to get away with not playing along.” He followed them over to the boxes. “Though I don’t really remember what’s in here, honestly. I think it’s a lot of random stuff, so it would be hard to get a matching costume.”

Ib searched through the clothes. “That’s okay. It’s for fun.” 

Mary pulled out a bandana. Ib found some black sunglasses. They both approached Garry, who looked skeptical. “Really? What kind of look are you going for?” 

Ib and Mary looked at each other, then Mary shrugged. “Can’t we make it up?” 

“Unless there’s something you want to be,” Ib suggested. 

“Nothing comes to mind. Go ahead, I guess.” He sat down, crossed his legs, and Mary and Ib went to work. 

“What about a tie?” Mary asked. 

“That doesn’t really match,” Ib said. 

“I thought it doesn’t have to.” 

“Oh yeah. Okay, then.” 

“Do you know how to tie a tie?”

“No.” 

“We’ll figure it out.”

Each time Garry would make a suggestion for something they could do, Mary would remind him that they wanted to come up with their own outfit. By the end of it, he sat there with an expression that Ib couldn’t quite read. Was it confusion? Defeat? Maybe somewhere in between. 

“Honestly, you two,” he said. “I don’t want to say I feel like a crime against fashion, but...” 

Mary frowned. “What does that mean?” 

He crossed his arms, which had a number of various bracelets clanging together, against his chest, where there were almost as many necklaces. “You weren’t...wasteful in your accessory choices.”

“There’s mostly girly clothes here,” Mary reminded him. “What should we do? Have you wear a dress? That would be silly.” 

“You know, it doesn’t hurt to keep an open mind. Anyway...”

Mary frowned again. “If we knew how to make clothes too, we could make something better. But I can’t do that. I might poke my fingers.”

“You’re right. That part of it isn’t something you should be trying. Though, you could still design your own outfits.” 

A few seconds after the words sank in, Mary’s eyes grew wide. “Oh! We can!”

He nodded. “Of course.”

“And you can make them!”

“Yeah—Wait.” 

She clapped and danced around the room, looking like a delighted princess who’d been invited to a ball. “You can make them for everyone,” she continued. 

Now it was Garry’s turn to frown. “What? Who do you mean?”

“For big sis! And the mannequins! And the dolls.”

He winced a little. “The...dolls.”

“Yes. Everyone! I know everyone else wants an outfit,” she said, smoothing her dress. “Ib too. Right, Ib?”

Ib looked at Mary, then at Garry, who seemed overwhelmed at just the suggestion. “Um...Mary. That would be a lot of work.” 

“But Garry can do it! He’s really good!”

“I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think he’s good?”

“No, I mean, I don’t think he can...or wants to.”

Mary pouted. “I want everyone else to dress up too. I want everyone to have fun.”

“But would all that work be fun for Garry?”

“Yeah!”

“Mary...”

A moment passed as they both looked at him. He seemed to be thinking. Finally, he spoke. “Well...It’s not something I could do all at once, if I was going to.”

Mary turned to him excitedly. “So you will?”

“I mean, there’s also the cost of materials. I would need a lot of fabric, which isn’t cheap.” 

“Oh, yeah. I forgot. Garry doesn’t have lots of money.” 

He stood up. “I beg your pardon?” 

“He had that torn up coat when we met him. Remember, Ib?”

Of course she remembered. Though she hadn’t recalled seeing him wear it again since their frightful introduction to the gallery. 

“That was an old coat,” he said huffily. “Besides, it‘s considered a style. There are people who wear things like pants with rips in them, you know.”

“That’s weird.”

He sighed. “Anyway, what exactly would I have to make?”

“I have to think about it. Ib, you wanna help too?”

“Yeah.” 

Garry paced, seeming lost in thought. “Hm. If you guys need an idea, it can help to design a set of clothes around a theme, like a certain element they could share. What might that be?”

Mary and Ib looked at each other, then back at Garry. 

“Art?” Ib said.

“Art!” echoed Mary. 

“That’s not a bad idea. It figures, since we’re in a gallery.” 

“Oh, I want it to look like dad’s art!” Mary said, clapping and then clasping her hands together. “Everyone can dress like one of his artworks. You too, Garry. Just pick your favorite one.”

He frowned. “Uhhhh. That’s...tricky.”

“You don’t like dad’s art?”

“I can’t say I have the fondest memories of it. I mean, I don’t exactly visit here to see them. But I guess there are a few I can think of that aren’t so bad.”

“What about you, Ib?”

She wasn’t sure. An artwork from this gallery that she liked? Like Garry, her memories of the artworks weren’t great either, since so many of them had just wanted to hurt her. Now everything was fine, but she would still find herself flinching sometimes when one of the mannequins or the painting ladies passed by. 

“Um. Well, I think...” The rose. That sculpture had at least one good memory attached to it, didn’t it? If she hadn’t gone there, she wouldn’t have met Garry again. “I think I have one in mind.”

“We also have to come up with things for the others too. And if it’ll be easier for Garry, we can try to make simple designs.” 

Ib agreed, and Garry looked a little relieved at the suggestion. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll start planning out my piece, and you guys start on yours. You don’t have to make perfect illustrations. Just try your best, and have them ready for next time.”

Mary looked a little sad. “Are you guys gonna go now? Already?” 

Garry checked his watch, which wasn’t ticking. “I think it’s been quite a while. At least, it feels like it has, and I’m beat.” 

Ib also felt tired. Mary was usually hyper, and that could wear a person out quickly sometimes. They said their goodbyes to her, and she saw them off with a wave and a smile, though Ib could tell she wanted them to stay longer. 

At their next meeting, they showed their designs to Garry, who looked them over and made some suggestions. 

Ib had come up with a skirt that looked like a red rose. She decided she would bring a blouse from home since she knew things would be easier if Garry had to use less materials. He seemed to have a similar idea in mind, as he said he would just be making a vest for himself. 

For the other outfits, her and Mary made several designs between the two of them, including ones for a scarf, shawl, shirt, and cardigan. 

Garry wrote down materials he thought he’d need, and he then started working on the clothes soon after outside of the gallery, since he said things would go much more smoothly if he could use a sewing machine. 

The next time they decided to meet, he had his arms full of clothes and so did Ib as they walked to Mary’s room. They had both dressed in their outfits beforehand, and Ib glanced at the dark blue vest Garry wore along with a white shirt and matching blue pants. He said it was inspired by the sculpture Drinking in the Night, and it really did remind her of the night since it seemed to sparkle with stars in its sky. 

“You know, your designs are really impressive,” he said. “Both yours and Mary’s. I see I’m not the only one with a creative streak in me.” 

She smiled. “Thank you and thanks for bringing our ideas to life.”

“You’re very welcome...though I’m glad I can’t _really_ do that.”

She was thinking about her word choice when they stepped into Mary’s room and stopped short. 

The lights were dim. There was a long carpet rolled out before them and small blue dolls sitting along the walls of both sides of the room. 

“Ugh,” Garry said, frowning as he looked at them. “What in the world?” 

Ib squinted and scanned the room. Mary was nowhere to be found. She, however, noted a large curtain spread across the back of the room. “Let’s see if Mary’s behind there.”

As they headed for the back, a lady mannequin and guy mannequin walked past them, followed by a painting lady. The mannequins were holding what looked like folded paper flowers and were putting them on the walls, while the painting lady seemed to be working with streamers. 

Garry led the way. “I don’t know what to make of this. Let’s see what Mary has to say.” 

He pulled the curtain back, and they slipped behind it. 

There was Mary standing among many blue dolls and humming to herself. She had on the dress Garry had made and now a tiara that he’d given her. 

She spun around as they approached. “You guys! Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?” they both asked. 

“The show!”

“Show?” was Garry’s confused response. “What show?” 

“For the clothes! Everyone’s gonna dress up and walk down the runaway.”

“Run...away?”

She moved the curtain aside and pointed to the long carpet running down the middle of the room. 

“I think you mean runway,” he said, shifting the clothes to one arm. “But where did you get this idea anyway?” 

She turned back around to point at Garry. 

“Me? Huh? What did I do?”

“It was in that book.”

“Book?” He looked confused for several more seconds before something seemed to dawn on him. “Oh. The fashion book I gave you?” 

“Yeah. So, that’s what you do after you make clothes, right? You have a show?”

“Well, sure...but not necessarily.”

“No?”

He turned his attention to the dolls sitting in a circle around her. “Uh...what’s going on here?”

“They’re helping me get ready. They’re good at picking what to wear and finding decorations. But anyway, do you guys have the clothes? Can I see?”

“Mary, I don’t know about this.”

“What?”

He gestured towards the dolls. “Why are they all along the walls out there too?” 

“Well, we didn’t make any tiny clothes, so they want to be the audience.” 

“It’s a bit unsettling.” 

“Huh?” 

Ib quickly moved forward to show her the clothes. The two of them were still at odds about the dolls, and Ib wasn’t sure she wanted to hear another debate about why or why not the dolls were the greatest ever. “Here they are,” she said. 

“Oh! Yay! And you guys are dressed up too! Are you ready to help?”

“I don’t know,” Garry said. “What are we supposed to do?” 

“We need to dress everyone up. Wait here, and I’ll go get them.”

She brought the mannequins and painting lady behind the curtain, and they all set to work on getting them ready. 

Ib stood on her toes to get a shawl on a lady mannequin. Garry struggled to pull a shirt over another mannequin. They looked over at Mary, who simply handed a scarf to the painting lady. “Here you go, sis! I hope you like it.” 

It didn’t take long to get ready. Everyone gathered behind the curtain exit. “Okay,” Mary said. “You all know what to do, right?”

Ib shook her head. “Not really.”

“Give the crowd a good show. They have to leave happy.”

“You’re really taking this seriously,” said Garry. “What will they do if they’re not happy? Actually, I don’t want to think about it.”

Mary patted his arm. “Just do your best, okay?” 

“Wha—hey, what’s with that tone? I know more about this than you!” 

Ib didn’t know anything about it. “So we have to walk out there? Then what?”

Mary grinned. “Then you pose!” 

“How do you do that?”

“Hm. What did the book say again? I don’t remember.” 

“Well,” Garry said. “Just try to relax, mostly. When posing on the runway, it’s good to keep in mind that your weight should shift smoothly from one pose to the next. I could say more, but you guys shouldn’t be so concerned about it. You already worked hard on your designs, so have some fun.”

“Yeah!” Mary clapped her hands. “We’re ready. Lights, please!” The room lit up much brighter than before. 

Relax, huh? Well, if Garry could be so casual about it, so could she. They peeked out from behind the curtain. She blinked. Okay. There were lots more dolls than before. When did that happen? She could hear them chattering with each other. She turned to see Garry frowning beside her. 

“Okay, you guys,” Mary said. “Who wants to go first?” 

Ib and Garry looked at each other. 

“Um,” Ib began. “If you want, I can...”

“No, it’s all right,” he said. “I can go to give you guys an example. Though, it’s not really my speciality.” He straightened his vest and ran a hand through his hair. “Oh, what am I doing? Like they care how neat I look.”

“They do!” Mary insisted. “You’ll lose points if you’re sloppy.”

“What? You’ve got to be kidding.”

She giggled. “Yeah! I am! Now go!” 

He stepped outside and walked down the center of the carpet. At the end of the runway, he stopped and did a few casual poses, shifting his weight each time to face a different part of the room. Then he swiftly walked back and ducked behind the curtain. 

“See?” he said, looking relieved. “Nothing to it.” 

“Did they like you?” Mary asked. 

“I couldn’t tell. It’s not like I understand them. Anyway, I wouldn’t mind if they don’t.”

“I think they did,” she said. She turned to Ib. “You’re up.”

Ib took a breath, then made her way out onto the runway. The lights were bright, and there were many eyes looking at her. She walked to the end of the carpet and did simple poses with one hand on her hip, switching it up as she changed directions. Then, at the end, she waved to the dolls. Their chattering grew louder, and she saw some of them bouncing up and down. 

She walked back behind the curtain. 

Mary grabbed her hands. “Ib! That was great! They’re excited!” 

“Good job,” Garry said with a thumbs up. “I’m sure they also appreciated your design.”

She couldn’t help beaming. 

The rest of the show went well. The mannequins and the painting lady each showed off a piece inspired by the gallery’s works, and the dolls seemed to like each one. At the end, they all went out and took a bow. 

Afterwards, the dolls dispersed, and everyone started to clean up. 

Garry pulled down the curtain and folded it. “I can’t believe we just held a fashion show for a bunch of dolls. I hope none of them were critics.” 

Ib was helping the mannequins get changed. “I think they really liked it. Did you?” 

“Surprisingly. I mean, a few times I may have wanted to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t in a very strange dream, but I should probably be used to that feeling by now.” 

“Where’s Mary?” 

No sooner had she said the words before feeling herself being hugged from behind. “Ib! Garry!” Mary pulled Ib over to Garry, where she then hugged them both and squeezed them tightly. 

“Ah!” Garry said in surprise. “What’s this about?”

“We did it! We did it!”

“Yes, and now there’s a lot to clean up.”

“You didn’t have fun, Garry?”

“I did, I’ll admit. I think I even got some ideas out of it. I might just have to visit a gallery again the next time I need help with my designs.”

Mary was smiling as she stepped back from both of them. 

“Mary,” Ib said. “I have a question.”

“Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you make a design for your favorite artwork, like we did? Don’t you have a favorite too?”

“Oh! That’s tough. I couldn’t pick.” 

“I can understand,” Garry said. “There are so many.”

She nodded. “Uh huh. But I like my drawings too! And...I think the ones I like the most are always the ones I make with you guys.” 

Ib paused to think about it. The stuff they made when they were with each other, whether just scribbles or sketches...she hadn’t realized how much she liked them and how she would always keep them tucked away somewhere safe. “Yeah,” she said. “Me too.” 

Garry turned around, picked something up, then brought it over to them. It was his notebook. He flipped through it, then paused at one page. Inside, next to some dress designs, were drawings of Ib and Mary. “Well, you aren’t the only ones. It’s hard not to be inspired by such a lively, creative duo.”

Ib and Mary smiled. Mary clapped her hands together. “What should we make next?”


End file.
